The GOP’s midterm deja vu should make them very, very worried

Republican candidates entering the 2026 midterms are in a position that resembles their 2018 predicament, but with worse prospects, according to MS NOW columnist Hayes Brown. In both cycles, voters were dissatisfied with President Donald Trump and showed little enthusiasm for the party's signature tax legislation. Brown argues that the GOP has absorbed few lessons from its earlier defeat.

In 2018, Republicans led by House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell struggled to promote the $1. 5 trillion Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, could not agree on a follow-up, and trailed Democrats by September. They turned to immigration and nationalism, centered on a migrant caravan, yet Democrats still gained a net of 40 seats and the House majority, while Republicans kept the Senate. This year, the White House has rebranded the One Big Beautiful Bill as the "working families tax cut," but a new Politico poll finds taxes ranking low among voter concerns. Speaker Mike Johnson's hopes for another reconciliation bill also look dim.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →